New release: The Pandora Initiative as part of the CyberWar: Digital Battlefield anthology

This one was large enough I could give you a snippet from the first chapter
The Pandora Initiative: Snippet 1As far as he was concerned, after serving with the SAS, any other position in the army would have been equivalent to a desk job. And anything that he considered a desk job meant he was out of the army.

Still, he had to honor the call if it came in. Surviving as far off the grid as he was, that meant he needed an alert indicator when the phone rang. He was often working outside on the vegetable patch or looking after his small number of livestock.

Mostly he wanted the warning system to tell them they could get fucked as quickly as possible. He just wanted to be left alone now. The rest of the world could go to hell after how he’d been treated, as far as he was concerned.

He thudded the ax into the chopping block and headed inside. Answering the phone he said, as rudely as possible, “Get fucked!”

He could almost feel Brigadier Worth’s teeth grinding. The man hated any disrespect and was a marionette of a man when it came to military formality. Apparently, his temperament was very similar to that of Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II. He looked completely different and was the highest-ranking member of the Armed Forces with any aboriginal heritage, ever. He was a quarter Aboriginal, and on the outs with his tribe for joining the military

He was also highly competent. His ego was small enough that he’d put up with a lot if he felt it was for the good of the forces, or required due to the needs of the mission. That he was still on the phone after how McNaughton had answered it was a sign that he felt he needed McNaughton for whatever was in the works.

“You remember that paper you wrote on combined military operations of political enemies?” Worth growled after finally letting out a breath.

It took him a minute. As an officer, he’d had to complete a degree. Unusually for someone in the Special Forces track, he’d gone for one in international politics. He’d enjoyed it, and followed through to the Doctorate level in his ‘copious free time’ The thesis he’d written had gotten top marks and been immediately classified. It was a shame, he’d considered publishing it in the Journal of International Affairs.

“Yes,” Mad Dog answered curtly

“Good. Consider yourself called up and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. You’ve just become my candidate to lead the proposal, both in formation and on the ground,” Worth said.

“No,” McNaughton answered, although his voice was more respectful now, less confrontational. There was an undertone of curiosity, but his negation was still firm. Dave was now warring internally, as people didn’t join the special forces unless they enjoyed the challenge. Except for the oddballs that enjoyed misery and pain. Still, as far as McNaughton was concerned, the world could go to hell.

I wrote this while stuck on other stories, and it’s a hell of a ride. Give it a whirl. The other authors I worked with also wrote some fantastic stuff. There’s something for everyone in this book!https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y343BN